A second order ordinary differential equation with a superlinear term $g(x,u)$ under radiation boundary conditions is studied. Using a shooting argument, all the results obtained in a previous work for a Painlev\'e II equation are extended. It is proved that the uniqueness or multiplicity of solutions depend on the interaction between the mapping $\frac {\partial g}{\partial u}(\cdot,0)$ and the first eigenvalue of the associated linear operator. Furthermore, two open problems regarding, on the one hand, the existence of sign-changing solutions and, on the other hand, exact multiplicity are solved.